Working the checkouts at A&P in 1980

Video from the once mighty super grocery retail chain at local store in New York.
Footage of people buying items, baggers bagging groceries, etc...
This video last around 9 minutes.
#a&p
#pixystix

[@knuteboy3778]

it's amazing how this coverage footage would be considered useless and boring at the time. Now it has incredible value for it's role as a living visual document of a bygone era.

[@tony.9363]

The sound of that old register/printer brings a smile to my face 😊

[@smadaf]

I cannot express how much I value the videos at your channel. Thank you!

[@vampirerobot]

Wow! Thank you so much. Very kind words.. 😃

[@Tara2828-w6z]

I feel the same way. These videos give me so much comfort and bring me right back to my childhood.

[@summerrose4286]

I feel the same.

[@micosstar]

thank yououuuu i got your wonderful vid of the past on my youtube homepage algorithm recommend@@vampirerobot

[@holtridge7337]

It's like a KZbin time machine.

[@ThisIsAdamB]

I did this job in a different supermarket from 77-80. That register is new for that era. And I can still pack a paper grocery bag better than anyone I know to this day.

[@katjay3125]

Acme!

[@francisjames1377]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Sher1964]

In 1980 I was 16 it was the best I miss those days so much. Unfortunately we can never return to the simpler days 😔.

[@Unknown_816_]

Fr now look at how society changed and I wasn’t even born in the 80s I’m a early 2000s kid 😂

[@alexhein1738]

⁠@@Unknown_816_I was born in 99 and grew up in the 2000s

[@tracysullivan3715]

Now you’re lucky if you find any cashiers working. It’s mostly self-checkouts. Please bring me the Time Machine

[@annb1]

Love it! I remember those giant pixie sticks with nothing but sugar!

[@ekop1778]

I WAS 9 AND WANTED TO GRAB THE WHOLE BOX TOO MOM SAID NOOO

[@valeriekehrt7566]

Me too! I spotted that immediately.

[@thatgirl9759]

I'm 55 and still love them every now and then.🤣

[@Lisa-jp1zf]

I always choked on it but it was so good..sugar for days!

[@rz450]

Very beautiful when one with a single decent salary could work & buy a home, provide clothes for the kids, get groceries at affordable prices ,and have the wife be a stay at home mom... Too bad most can't live that american dream no more!

[@ddub9696]

Capitalism and greedy people did away with all that in the Reagan era!

[@alangray9117]

​@@ddub9696 you read my mind.

[@infernicide666]

@@ddub9696Yeah 1980 was kinda the end of that era. After that it went downhill with Reagan,both Bushes as well as Clinton and Obama and now especially Biden.

[@g-dave8002]

@@infernicide666nah. It was Reagan. The policy changes enacted by the Reagan administration and the Republicans in power in the early 80’s led to the biggest increase in poverty in the history of the US by the time Reagan was done and Bush came in. They basically set the stage for the billionaires and wealth disparities that we live with today. Reagan changed many laws that protected working people and made it ok for corporations to do whatever the hell they wanted to working people.

[@infernicide666]

@@g-dave8002 I’m not disagreeing with you. You’re absolutely right! What I’m saying is that Clinton as well as Obama kept that going which was WHY we got Trump! He is an effect of this broken system and not the cause of it. He of course did little more than pass a typical Republican tax cut though credit where credit is due he did not get us into any new wars though he was and is still pro Israel. Biden and the current Democrat party is in 2024 what the Republicans were in 2004. Sending billions to Ukraine and Israel and supporting the same authoritarianism Bush and neocons supported. BOTH parties are corrupt and paid for by the Israeli lobby (and yes I’m including Trump in that). Some minor differences on social issues maybe but on the whole no matter who wins Tel Aviv wins.

[@manuelgorgulho2209]

I remember those registers. NCR 2552 (I think). Worked on those in the early 80s. They were noisy. The ribbon cartridge was always chewing itself up. The sound took me back 40 years. Thank you for sharing this with us.

[@ericamiles666]

I was 14 at this time. I loved A&P, especially the aroma of freshly ground coffee when you entered the store. It was so comforting.

[@jameswillett7186]

I was also 14 years old in 1980. I grew up with A&P my mother shopped there all the time in the 1970's. She would by large glass jars of Ann Page Pineapple Preserves and Strawberry Preserves. Their own brands were good quality from what I remember.

[@brendaechols5929]

I was 8

[@ericamiles666]

@@jameswillett7186 And let's not forget the S&H Green Stamps 😸

[@ericamiles666]

@@brendaechols5929 I bet you were cute as a button. 😸

[@tomstewartdrums]

Your channel is amazing….what is all of this? News station stock footage? The quality on it is all pro TV camera…very clear etc. The 70s/80s footage just gives me a warm feeling inside…I’m 53, grew up during those years when things were simple, no cell phones,computers, 24 hr news, almost anything you bought grocery shopping was under $3….It brings back a lot of my childhood memories. Keep ‘em coming!

[@elliecherise1968]

How did he get these videos?

[@EmilyEmilyEmily01]

Is it weird that I find this comforting? I know my mom was out there pregnant with me somewhere, nice seeing how her shopping trips probably were.

[@EmilyEmilyEmily01]

I will say people want to go back in time, but one thing I don't miss is waiting in line behind someone trying to write a check lol

[@DepDawg]

@@EmilyEmilyEmily01oh wow, I forgot about that! They had to call the bank and confirm the funds. Took forever 🙄

[@ville666sora]

I wasn't born until 87 but my older brother would have been about 1 in 1980 so I'm picturing my mom walking around the store carrying my brother lol.

[@davidcolantuono3622]

I used to go to A&P with my dad (and, sometimes, with my late grandparents...usually, with grandma more than grandpa) during the 1980s. I miss the way things were in the 1980s. I miss being young with my family alive and well. *COME ON!!* Somebody, *PLEASE* invent a time machine so I can take it back to these days again. I'm begging anyone out there!

[@paulbroderick8438]

No BS self-checkout back then. Load it all into my 1975 Chrysler Cordoba. Ah, those were the days!

[@AuntJemimaPancakes]

Did it have the 360 or 400 ? My Cordba had a 360.

[@patrickmosier3674]

i was 11 back then and went to the a&p in hewitt nj. i moved away from nj in 2002....man i wish i could go back in time

[@saragarmon1227]

Back in the 80s you could get a lot of food for not much at all now it crazy one bag of groceries will coat around a $100.00

[@nickc9224]

Yep $50 was a full shopping cart! cHard to believe and not everything came in plastic. You could buy milk in cartons or glass and juice in glass or cardboard. things were glass,can,cardboard! Plus those paper bags could be filled and not break.Not all the time!

[@OhJodi69]

No, groceries were very expensive in the 70's and 80's, when you adjust the amounts for inflation. $1 in 1980 is the same as $3.65, today. I remember milk was $2 per gallon, so that's 7.30 in today's money. Minimum wage was 2.30/hr.

[@Big_Ben1988]

​@poonksooniger Everything the mainstream media tells you is a lie. Everything the president tells you is a lie. Basically, almost all media and the government are lying to everyone. And they've been doing it for a very long time. Too many people are just too ignorant and believe what they say.

[@captainkeyboard1007]

What a difference an age makes!

[@jzero4813]

​​​​@@OhJodi69 Exactly. This is why people need to pay attention in school. Because it's really easy to look at numbers and dream up some broken logic that is painfully wrong but feels seductively correct. Food is cheaper now than it has ever been in history. This is why even in poor countries everyone is FAT. In 2022 the US finally hit disposable income levels spent on food that reached the levels seen in 1980, but only because people are spending twice as much eating out and half as much on food from the grocery store. In 1980 people spent about 8.5% of their disposable income on food at the grocery store. Today that number is closer to 5% so food in grocery stores makes up about 40% less in household spending today than it was in 1980 in real money. Those savings are now being spent in restaurants.

[@thatjpwing]

NCR 2552 cash registers. A modern version of the bigger NCR 255, but the two could be mixed and matched on the same store loop. Scanning was already around for the registers by 1980, they probably couldn't afford it yet or the traffic counts didn't warrant it yet.

[@satire75]

These videos are restorative and awesome--many thanks!

[@teresapflaumer5717]

The A&P I shopped at was in Lumberton NJ. The coffee grinders were at the end of each checkout lane. Eight O"clock Coffee aroma while you bag groceries! Then A&P became Superfresh, which was a good market too. But A&P ruled!

[@jamie-gy6bd]

Oh yes😀

[@LOVERSANDLIES]

Andp were a bad company they are the reason Pathmark went out of biz in 2015

[@CK-gf4ns]

Hard to believe that this was 43 years ago!

[@hectorlopez1069]

Life is this scene was precious because prices were fair, not like it is now.

[@wjcraig78]

I love seeing the old POS equipment. I was a cashier from 1994-99 right before dot matrix went away. I always got ahead of the register scanning. My favorite was the NCR. Kmart had them. Unique sound. I still hear it. I used IBM systems and use to be the on call troubleshooter. I once had a idiot head cashier tell me I wasn’t supposed to “fix” the register and she called support. The support people told her to hold, heard my name paged for a call. Picked up the phone at next register and I was connected to support and the head cashier who called. The support person says just reset it so we don’t have to send out a tech. Store manager eventually said to staff call me first not support unless I deem it necessary.

[@azrailfan2717]

Awesome footage! I love these candid videos of a different time that I have never experienced.

[@RichWeigel]

If I woke up from this nightmare and it was 1980 again I would be so happy. I was ten years old then.

[@christianpatriot7196]

Me too bro and in 1980 I was only three years old lol but I don’t care to go back to this much better time. I would gladly be three years old again.

[@christianpatriot7196]

I meant I would love to be back in this time

[@willinmilwaukee]

The cashier was quick in keying the items. The technology of the registers was 5-6 years old at the time this was filmed. I worked with these in the 90s but they had scanners. One thing I hated was you didn't see the numbers you keyed until you indicated a department, look up number, or tender type. I think it would have been easy to overcharge someone.

[@liamwatson5125]

Love that receipt printing sound. It sounds like someone cutting the cheese. 😂

[@rocknroller77]

I remember that old Ivory dishsoap

[@larkatmic]

I miss grocery store instrumental music

[@RazorFriendly]

Look at how large and durable those plastic bags were. Now, you get a membrane with a handle.

[@jasetraber]

membrane 😂

[@yuvgotubekidding]

When my wife and I married in 1979 we first shopped at A&P. Used to spend $25 to $35 a week. 😢

[@ville666sora]

Ikr? Now you spend 90 bucks on one bag of groceries unless you're just buying top ramen or some other cheap crap you shouldn't eat. And most of the cheap crap isn't so cheap anymore. It's sad.

[@robertnycguyraisedonrecord7587]

It’s so strange to see this and feel how far in the past this is, now. I was there in real time; I was 15 years old in 1980. I loved going grocery shopping with my family up until 1981, 1982 when we had other things to do, as most teens did. I have fond memories of earlier years , early 70’s. A&P was our go to grocery store followed by Pathmark in NYC. Now as an adult every-time I go grocery shopping I think back to those grocery shopping days with my folks and siblings.

[@katwil89]

I remember these days! This is the next best thing to a time machine. I'm new to your channel but I am enjoying it so much! Subscribed!

[@vampirerobot]

Thank you katwill 😊

[@mikemoyercell]

I forgot what it sounded like getting checked out in a place like that with the old style pin printers. good ol days. i rememebr it in the 90s and 00's like this.

[@danielsantana540]

Friday the 13th first film.1980.

[@TaccRaccoon]

I remember going to A&P with my grandparents in the early/mid 2000s fun times We even became friends with one of the workers My grandpa still has the paper bags saved from before they closed down.

[@MaxZomboni]

The cash registers and printers in this video are a lot faster then the ones I remember. Hell that's pretty fast even by today's standards, or maybe the checkers were just faster.

[@TR47]

They're just glorified adding machines.

[@thatjpwing]

@@TR47 They were connected to a minicomputer in the office or back of the store.

[@mattr.1887]

Nowadays, the computer has to think about it for a min, but then spits it out like lightning.

[@basti4655]

That printer sound is so amazing!

[@robertpresar9970]

If I close my eyes...it's Waldbaums when I was 19. The sound of these registers....

[@daved1535]

These cashiers had to type everything in back then and yet they still got the customers out of the store quicker than the cashiers today with scanners

[@nickc9224]

that's because everything had prices from price guns.made it easy to do.plus people had better work ethics!

[@Fritha71]

Being from Northern Europe it's always fascinating to watch how the personnel in an American grocery store pack the customer's items; no such help for customers here, we learn to pack on our own, lol.

[@KingMacintosh2]

Have no clue what you're talking about. Are you talking about no help BACK THEN or today? There is self-checkout everywhere, today.

[@Fritha71]

@@KingMacintosh2 There has never been packing service in Finland or Sweden, customers always packed their own groceries. Also, we do have traditional checkouts still - I'm a cashier in a supermarket, I oughta know, lol. Don't know where you are from but pretty sure they still have cashiers in America as well...?!

[@andywest5773]

@@Fritha71 We do, but self-checkout is slowly taking over. Cashiers are going the way of newspapers and phone booths.

[@ddub9696]

As an American living in Denmark, I am always amazed at how I barely get a scowl from the cashier. Not even a hello or anything. I know it’s just cultural but service levels here are definitely much lower than the US. My mom’s supermarket in the US still has both a cashier and a bagger at each register.

[@MichaelB-od3xh]

Almost everybody in that store was thin. You notice that? And look at what is being purchased, no cookies and candy and sweets and junk food. If this was filmed today I'm sure 90% of the customers would be overweight and their shopping carts would be full of junk food. Those food companies sure have done a number on the people of this country. Unhealthy food everywhere.

[@nickc9224]

Plus no GMO foods! Very diffrent time! i moss those days of decency and common sense!

[@Incomudro1963]

Agreed, but I don't blame the food companies. I blame the people for being lazy and stupid.

[@FUCKINGENIOUS]

High Fructose Corn syrup.

[@gimpyjwilliams]

they probably couldn't afford it thats why, there was plenty of fat people eating junk food then lol

[@YRFKDM8]

Pretty sure we still had fat people in 1980

[@thatgirl9759]

I worked at A&P in 1989--1990. Things were much simpler back then. I miss those days.

[@macroevolve]

I always wondered when did platic bags start. Seeing People with them, They at least started in 1980. I wonder the same about plastic Milk Jugs. When did it go from cardboard/Glass to Plastic? I remember my Mom buying the Gallon cardboard containers with the plastic handle fastened to it, in the early or mid 70's.

[@tedwardtaylortv]

My favourite bit of this video and till in general is the keyboard with all the buttons.

[@WolfenEXE]

I'm sure alot of those food brands don't exist anymore.

[@VintageToyTheatre]

Grapefruit was a popular item. They looked bigger back then.

[@mascara1777]

The grapefruit diet

[@jenniferburchill3658]

I remember those old snap coin bags...

[@thefoxdoctor1072]

That was my first job when I was 15yrs old or 14yrs old bagging groceries at Krogers back in 1984 or 1985. I miss those days and think about them quite often...

[@Purplenpinkk]

All that food for @$31.00. My mom shopped at A&P when I was a little girl.

[@OhJodi69]

You have to adjust for inflation. $31 in 1980 was like spending $100, today. So those groceries were not cheap.

[@MisterMichaelVReyes]

I remember visiting a 1970s style A&P near Apalachicola, FL and seeing how small it was. Truly was a very small grocery store, but had everything you needed under one roof. Too bad A&P shut down in 2015.

[@my2centstoo]

People paying cash and writing checks.

[@OctoberRust1973]

I love looking at the packaging.☺️

[@wrestlingwithjay3770]

80’s Vintage

[@missbehavin888]

One thing I noticed right away...hardly any junk food at the checkout.

[@robertpresar9970]

yeah, so much produce

[@asphaltandtacos]

I miss the old cash registers and that time period.

[@malvolio01]

The oddest thing about all this is to see a store with more than one person working the registers.

[@LINJ638]

That is because today they are all expendable and replacable.

[@DepDawg]

I worked there in 1984. I was also babysitting, saving up money for college. Such memories!☺️

[@ekop1778]

I WAS 9 THEN GOOD TIMES A AND P LAST STORE CLOSED IN 2015 IN HUDSON RIVER AREA ,NY

[@SimplyGobsmacked]

That paper bag isn't going to hold all those heavy items (first bag he packed)!

[@stevent9179]

Double bag for God's sake

[@ThisIsAdamB]

Need to double bag that one. And pack all the refrigerated and frozen food together.

[@OhJodi69]

paper bags were stronger back then, because they weren't made of recycled paper. The were it was long-fiber virgin paper.

[@judyl.761]

Whatever happened to Lender’s Bagels? Those things were great.

[@LKVince11]

Oooh I loved those as a kid in the 80s.. toasted with plenty of butter or cream cheese. Certainly cant eat like that now!

[@mitchell.9632]

Back when the manager at the local store reported back inventory. Not sure if they ordered locally too at A&P.

[@christopherzaniboni1366]

My friend worked at A&P back then..He was a bag boy and had to wear a dress shirt and tie..he also had to push people’s shopping carts to their vehicles and help them unload their groceries..I remember he did pretty good with tips.

[@trustnoone3007]

If you have old video footage of the retail store Caldor's, I'm going to *faint*

[@nickc9224]

OH my yes that would be funny!

[@jkilpatrick5214]

Worked at an A&P in NC during high school.

[@kayaccornero969]

same here only in Park Ridge N.J.

[@chasefreak]

Wow! The last customer that rang up at $46.69...that's almost $200 in 2023

[@hectorlopez1069]

For sure, I miss these 80s store prices.

[@matthewfarmer2520]

Vampire Robot you must be from the north by the looks of your videos in your collection, not me I'm from Louisville Kentucky born and raised, but these vintage films are great to look back, i was checking out what u have in your video vault channel, it looks great.

[@badexter1]

Wow NCR Point of Sale with No Scanner. They had Price Look Up numbers for some things though. When you did find one of the early scan stores it seemed so magical and cool.

[@todddebick9160]

I remember shopping at A&P supermarket in the 1980s.

[@elliecherise1968]

Wow, this is a complete time warp. What if one of those customers is watching now.😂These videos are wild and you weren't discreet you had to have a big azz camera you lugged around.

[@andywest5773]

I was 3 years old in 1980, and I remember going to the Super Duper with my mom. Pac-Man came out that year and our local store (also in NY) had it. I remember begging her for a quarter and playing while she waited impatiently. Such a great early memory.

[@andywest5773]

@veganhigler6541 If you mean Jif peanut butter and Kraft stove top stuffing, then yes. I'm old, but I'm not senile yet.

[@atomsmash100]

I remember these A&P checkouts.. the sounds of the printer really bring back memories. I'm surprised they weren't using scanners at this time. Was A&P slow to adopt the technology?

[@nocturnalrecluse1216]

Wow. That was a year before I was even born!!

[@JUSTENization]

Now is like: “You want a bag?!”

[@christianpatriot7196]

So true and sometimes you get that one that looks like they just hate life altogether, and you were getting on their nerves by coming down their aisle lol

[@oldtwinsna8347]

they ask that in many places because your politicians decided to charge mandatory "green" fees for bags.

[@jehobden]

The cash registers were a nice look at the first that were computerized, but there weren't scanners there yet. I first saw a grocery scanner summer 1980 at a Shaw's Market in N. Conway, NH. I also like the closeup of the receipt at 3:00. I think the old mechanical registers could also measure sales by department, and this computerized receipt could also show (as I think the older ones could also) the department to which each sale was made: FRZ (frozen), DY (dairy), PRO (produce), GRX (taxable grocery), and MT (meat).

[@Laura-ef1mb]

I worked at the last A&P in the the city I grew up in till they closed, we had to ground the coffee beans at the checkout. I hated the polyester smocks.

[@Funkyfanfare-py4uh]

None of these new ASMR channels have ANYTHING on just this one video

[@apl175]

not a bar code scanner in sight --- although they could eventually be fitted to work with those NCR cash registers.

[@TL....]

where is a video like this from originally ? who recorded it and why ? just curious

[@ddub9696]

This is what is known as “B-footage” or “b-roll” to cut in with other footage while someone talks over it.

[@ladyd8339]

Back in the day when cashiers used to know how to make change! And know the codes for weighing veggies! And which department to charge the purcase to! And food stamp purchases from taxable items! And people used cash! And people dressed decently! And no hoodies or masks! And people were grateful they were working!

[@captainkeyboard1007]

It seems as though A&P upgraded from using the big NCR cash registers to the smaller cash registers with light emitting diode displays. There was an A&P store in my hometown of Brooklyn, New York, before I was born in 1953, until the 1970s, after the badmen robbed the store. The merchandise was plentiful and cost less than after the 1970s decade.

[@algomaone121]

Notice the lack of the “DOOT” of cashiers scanning UPC codes...not universal yet!

[@danielsantana540]

My family bought their current 🏡 home 8 10 1980

[@teddyjam8134]

I Love this channel!!

[@WillieMeetsWorld]

Shopping bags were so much nicer and thick. Now you can’t make it out the store before the bag splits open.

[@my2centstoo]

I don't remember having plastic bags in 1980. But maybe they were pretty new. I notice someone (perhaps the customer) says that he doesn't want the plastic bags but the "other ones". 3:40

[@AurumUsagi]

Nowadays, the greenies are forcing people to have the "other ones" by getting the local governments to ban plastic, despite evidence that bans have a negligible environmental impact, and only drive sales of dedicated 'single-use' bags through the roof. Not to mention that New Jersey's extreme version of a ban has even led to heavy-duty reusable bags becoming waste, as the larger stores are banned from using paper.

[@nickc9224]

i think this is queens or one of the boroughs. I was on long island and we had mostly paper bags. So your not crazy!

[@mrsandmom5947]

Look at the type of food people bought too. More fresh fruits and vegetables

[@History_Coffee]

I grew up across the street from an A&P in NY, used to ride my bike there to get candy in the summer.

[@incudust953]

also is there no music or commercials being played over loudspeakers? if so, that must have been nice

[@nerdbamarich2063]

Nostalgic

[@valeriekehrt7566]

Ivory dish soap.🫧

[@jameswillett7186]

In those day NO credit cards. You had to pay in cash. If it was a local supermarkety they would allow you to pay with a check but if you were shopping in a supermarket in another town or area it would be difficult to pay for your food purchases with a check.

[@RapFanatic4ever]

I remember this store

[@valeriekehrt7566]

I remember the smells in grocery store also.

[@spooky3120]

The cash registers sound like a mini Burp Gun.

[@bettyc.parker-young1437]

This was the main store I remember my mom shopping at and I continued to shop at until it closed.☹️ All the great products like 8 0' clock coffee, Jane Parker , and etc.Can anyone else name some more? I still love the 8'0clock coffee I buy it from other stores.

[@ddub9696]

Ann Page and (later) America’s Choice, Master Choice and Greenway. I still start my day with a cup of Eight O’Clock Coffee.

[@paisleyprincess7996]

I remember those cash registers…

[@JosephArvay-m1i]

Ahhhh.......the days when the cashier knew how to pack a bag and said thank you. Today you have to pack your own items and pay for the bags while the cashier just stands there and plays games on their zombie phone.

[@mulletover3832]

It's weird to think that when this was recorded there were still lots of people around who were born in the 1800s.

[@Lisa-jp1zf]

I remember those giant pixie sticks!

[@ManiaMusicChannel]

Must have been a nightmare being a cashier back then 😬

[@johnv8646]

This is so depressing. I really thought going so far back would reveal some differences from 2024, but I'm seeing none. People aren't friendlier, life doesn't seem any happier, and the boredom is palpable. I have a strange suspicion that had this been 1979 or 1978 it would have felt different.

[@TR47]

The lack of background music in the store is somewhat unusual. I recall "helping" at a Shoprite as a little kid, where my mother worked, marking cans with a label gun. Laser scanners, computerized registers and UPC barcodes thankfully made that task obsolete.

[@KingMacintosh2]

No it didn't. The area I'm in did not get rid of price guns until 5-6 years ago...

[@fls360]

Times were hard back then with run away inflation but I would trade anything to be reliving those simpler times right now. Families were closer and a trip to the movies at least gave some a social life.